Latest news with #TwentyMinuteVC
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Windsurf's CEO says big teams can kill new ideas
Having as many as 10 people working on an unproven idea can backfire fast, said Windsurf's CEO. Varun Mohan said on a podcast that it's "very hard" for big teams to "get alignment." Early-stage product teams should ideally have three to four people, he added. When it comes to building new products, a bigger team isn't always better. It might be what kills the idea altogether, said Windsurf's CEO, Varun Mohan. Mohan said on an episode of the "Twenty Minute VC" podcast published Monday that having as many as 10 people working on an unproven idea can backfire fast. "Everyone has opinions. Everyone has ideas. And nobody's ideas are wrong — because no one has proven anything," he said. "It's very hard to get alignment. It's very hard for people to work in one direction without causing communication issues," he added. Windsurf, founded in 2021 as Codeium, created an AI-powered coding development tool and has been riding the vibe coding wave. According to PitchBook, it has raised $243 million in VC funding. Mohan recommends keeping early-stage product teams lean — ideally just three to four people. It could be a couple of engineers and a designer — or if it's a pure systems problem, just engineers, he added. A small, "opinionated" group moving fast to prove an idea is "actually really good," he said. Even a "crappy" version of a great idea is "already amazing," he said. "Once you've proven the crappy version has legs, you can then go and resource more people on the project to actually go out and and pursue it more deeply." Windsurf isn't the only startup espousing small teams. Some of AI's biggest names have built upon tiny teams, such as Anysphere, the maker of coding copilot Cursor. The advent of AI has also enabled startups to do more with less, prompting some founders to maintain extremely lean teams. "We're going to see 10-person companies with billion-dollar valuations pretty soon," OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, said in February 2024. Mohan also said that Windsurf doesn't set specific budgets for these early-stage projects. "We're in an unconstrained market," he said. Technology that could accelerate software development "is so valuable" to customers that the company doesn't approach new ideas with fixed budget constraints, he added. Instead, Windsurf evaluates progress over time and decides whether to keep going, hit pause, or shift resources elsewhere. "That's not a democratic process," Mohan added. "It's a little bit of a top-down process." Windsurf did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Read the original article on Business Insider Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Windsurf's CEO says big teams can kill new ideas
When it comes to building new products, a bigger team isn't always better. It might be what kills the idea altogether, said Windsurf's CEO, Varun Mohan. Mohan said on an episode of the "Twenty Minute VC" podcast published Monday that having as many as 10 people working on an unproven idea can backfire fast. "Everyone has opinions. Everyone has ideas. And nobody's ideas are wrong — because no one has proven anything," he said. "It's very hard to get alignment. It's very hard for people to work in one direction without causing communication issues," he added. Windsurf, founded in 2021 as Codeium, created an AI-powered coding development tool and has been riding the vibe coding wave. According to PitchBook, it has raised $243 million in VC funding. Mohan recommends keeping early-stage product teams lean — ideally just three to four people. It could be a couple of engineers and a designer — or if it's a pure systems problem, just engineers, he added. A small, "opinionated" group moving fast to prove an idea is "actually really good," he said. Even a "crappy" version of a great idea is "already amazing," he said. "Once you've proven the crappy version has legs, you can then go and resource more people on the project to actually go out and and pursue it more deeply." Windsurf isn't the only startup espousing small teams. Some of AI's biggest names have built upon tiny teams, such as Anysphere, the maker of coding copilot Cursor. The advent of AI has also enabled startups to do more with less, prompting some founders to maintain extremely lean teams. "We're going to see 10-person companies with billion-dollar valuations pretty soon," OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, said in February 2024. No budgets set for new ideas Mohan also said that Windsurf doesn't set specific budgets for these early-stage projects. "We're in an unconstrained market," he said. Technology that could accelerate software development "is so valuable" to customers that the company doesn't approach new ideas with fixed budget constraints, he added. Instead, Windsurf evaluates progress over time and decides whether to keep going, hit pause, or shift resources elsewhere. "That's not a democratic process," Mohan added. "It's a little bit of a top-down process."
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CEOs know AI will shrink their teams — they're just too afraid to say it, say 2 software investors
Behind closed doors, CEOs are saying what they won't admit publicly: AI means smaller teams. In public, they stick to the safe script — "we're hiring" — to soften the blow, one investor said. From Klarna to Duolingo, companies that touted bold AI plans have quickly walked them back after backlash. AI is a tool to boost productivity, not to take anyone's job, according to the script many CEOs have been using. Behind closed doors, it's a very different conversation, said two software investors on an episode of the "Twenty Minute VC" podcast published Thursday. "Public companies are trying to prepare their teams for it, but the backlash was too strong," said Jason Lemkin, an investor in software startups. Instead, CEOs fall back on the safer line: "In fact, we're hiring." "That seems to take the edge off," Lemkin said. "But I think they're just walking back the fact that everybody knows they don't need 30% to 40% of the team they have today. Everybody says this," he added. "It's too hard for people to hear. There's only so much honesty you can get from a CEO," he said. Rory O'Driscoll, a longtime general partner at Scale Venture Partners, said CEOs can't talk about job loss because employees will "lose their shit." He said what ends up getting shared publicly is a "very bland statement" full of "standard corporate speak for how you talk about AI." "No one is going to get fired. You're just going to do more interesting things," O'Driscoll said. "That's the current state of the lie." From Klarna to Duolingo, several companies have tested the waters with bold AI declarations — only to backtrack. Klarna' CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, said in December that AI "can already do all of the jobs" humans do, and that the company has stopped hiring for over a year. But earlier this month, he walked it back, saying his pursuit of AI-driven job cuts may have gone too far. Duolingo's CEO, Luis von Ahn, also faced criticism after posting a memo on LinkedIn last month describing plans to make the company "AI-first." He later said on LinkedIn that he does not see AI replacing what his employees do and that Duolingo is "continuing to hire at the same speed as before." Lemkin and O'Driscoll did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Lemkin said mass layoffs could hit in the next two years as companies come to terms with a new reality. He added that he expects overall headcount to "stay flat." There will be "efficiencies" and also "jobs that would have existed in the absence of this product that won't exist now," said O'Driscoll. "So there will be tension." O'Driscoll said he sees a gradual shift — more of a "steady grind" of 2% to 3% less hiring each year. Tech companies, in particular, will see "significantly reduced hiring", he added. Anthropic's CEO, Dario Amodei, said on Thursday that AI could soon eliminate 50% of entry-level office jobs. AI companies and the government need to stop "sugarcoating" the risks of mass job elimination in fields including technology, finance, law, and consulting, Amodei said. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
30-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
CEOs know AI will shrink their teams — they're just too afraid to say it, say 2 software investors
Behind closed doors, it's a very different conversation, said two software investors on an episode of the "Twenty Minute VC" podcast published Thursday. "Public companies are trying to prepare their teams for it, but the backlash was too strong," said Jason Lemkin, an investor in software startups. Instead, CEOs fall back on the safer line: "In fact, we're hiring." "That seems to take the edge off," Lemkin said. "But I think they're just walking back the fact that everybody knows they don't need 30% to 40% of the team they have today. Everybody says this," he added. "It's too hard for people to hear. There's only so much honesty you can get from a CEO," he said. Rory O'Driscoll, a longtime general partner at Scale Venture Partners, said CEOs can't talk about job loss because employees will "lose their shit." He said what ends up getting shared publicly is a "very bland statement" full of "standard corporate speak for how you talk about AI." "No one is going to get fired. You're just going to do more interesting things," O'Driscoll said. "That's the current state of the lie." From Klarna to Duolingo, several companies have tested the waters with bold AI declarations — only to backtrack. Klarna' CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, said in December that AI "can already do all of the jobs" humans do, and that the company has stopped hiring for over a year. But earlier this month, he walked it back, saying his pursuit of AI-driven job cuts may have gone too far. Duolingo's CEO, Luis von Ahn, also faced criticism after posting a memo on LinkedIn last month describing plans to make the company "AI-first." He later said on LinkedIn that he does not see AI replacing what his employees do and that Duolingo is "continuing to hire at the same speed as before." Lemkin and O'Driscoll did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Layoffs are happening Lemkin said mass layoffs could hit in the next two years as companies come to terms with a new reality. He added that he expects overall headcount to "stay flat." There will be "efficiencies" and also "jobs that would have existed in the absence of this product that won't exist now," said O'Driscoll. "So there will be tension." O'Driscoll said he sees a gradual shift — more of a "steady grind" of 2% to 3% less hiring each year.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A founder who bet on 350 startups says passing on a hot AI company taught him a hard lesson
Immad Akhund passed on Scale AI, now worth $14 billion, because the founders were "so young," he said. The miss taught him to rethink his bias against young founders. The CEO and founder of Mercury has backed more than 350 startups at their earliest stages. Immad Akhund, an active angel investor since 2016, passed on an early bet in Scale AI — worth nearly $14 billion in last year's funding round — and it taught him an important lesson. "I saw Scale AI. And I was like, 'good idea, but these people are so young,'" he said on an episode of the "Twenty Minute VC" podcast published Monday. "I think they were like 19 and 20 at the time or something. I think I could run this company better if I was doing it and I didn't see how they were going to figure it out," he added. Looking back, the serial entrepreneur said he was "just so wrong." "There's some power to that youth that's hard to judge, to be honest. You kind of have to suspend belief and say, okay, this person's going to figure out how to run a huge company," he said. The misstep was a formative one for Akhund, who has backed more than 350 startups at their earliest stages, including Rappi, Airtable, Rippling, Decagon, and Etched. Akhund angel invests in "things that will seem inevitable 10 years from now and can be $10 billion companies," he told Business Insider in a May story about the most successful seed-stage investors. Akhund is also the founder and CEO of Mercury, a banking startup that recently raised a $300 million Series C round at a $3.5 billion valuation led by Sequoia. Akhund said one of the biggest lessons in his investing journey was learning to check his ego. As an entrepreneur, he was used to suggesting his ideas when speaking with startups, he said. The founders, especially if they were young, would often concur. But "that's not their idea, and it's not even fair to push an idea on other people," he said. He learned that it was important to back founders for their ideas, not for his. "You really have to actually remove your ego and your ideas and really listen," he said. "You're much more along for their journey rather than a major part of it," he added. Akhund said that he prefers serial founders to first-timers, especially those with "a chip on their shoulder." "I have such a bias toward them," he said. "A serial entrepreneur knows how hard it's going to be, but they're willing to do it again." That's "so unusual" and signals that "they must really want to do this," he added. For investors, Akhund advises making diversified bets. "Do at least 20 or 30 investments — that's when you start entering the game," he said. "You learn a lot by doing subsequent ones," he said, adding that investors "need a diversified portfolio to have any return in this space." A representative for Akhund declined further comment. Read the original article on Business Insider
